Palm Springs ShortFest 2026: Late Night

 By Jonathan Bilski

Welcome! Can you hold it in? Because in Don't Puke our main character could not and we go to experience it all in first person like a VR Drunk Simulator. Did it set the tone for the night? No, that would be the child murder and organ harvesting in What Are Grandchildren Made Of ? Late Night is its own animal of weird, gross and comedy sketch that goes all the way there. And, we dived right into some weird and heartfelt stuff.

Q&A after with some of the directors/crew

One such heartfelt film i have a animated/directed by Rory Waudby-Tolley starts off as a casual listing rap of what the animator has. It slowly divulges into what he doesn't have. And, does it even matter in the long run? Another, much more dour animation, What We Leave Behind, shares a story of rape within a youth hockey league. 

We leave that shocking animation for more over-the-top works with CGI feats for the eyes that make them hurt like Um about a creation myth story about bird people and MANTIS STREAM! LIKE & SUBSCRIBE which was on par with Don't Puke on making the audience want to vomit. It, like the previous nights horror block, took swings at current social media. A marriage proposal goes utterly wrong on stream. And it keeps, getting worse for the guy who proposed. Also, weird to see another praying mantis short after that other animated short simply titled Praying Mantis from the Thrills & Chills block.

Deuce Purgatory by Sydney Adams might have been the closes to a "normal" comedy sketch with an utterly terrible tennis player named Shelly and her sucking at a mixed doubles tennis match. There's blood, a talking trophy with long hair and dream sequences far too often. And, a car that needs to be put out of it's misery by the end of the short. Everything about the short makes me think there should be a sketch show featuring the people in and behind it.

What set it apart was not only how funny it was, but the effort put in. The ending credits and title screen have a 16-bit theme. The even made cute chibi 16-bit versions of the cast an animated them for the ending. And, a self -worth achievement. That's a lot of work for a short.

Deuce Purgatory came together thanks to Palm Springs ShortFest. People saw the work of the director three years prior and tapped her to make this new short.